GE Moved to Bet on European Debt Even As It Shrunk GE Capital After Crisis

General Electric Joined Forces With Abu Dhabi to Commit More Than $1 Billion

Even as General Electric Co. was fighting to keep its troubled banking arm from pulling down the company as the financial crisis roared in 2009, executives at GE Capital were lining up a deal to take advantage of the crisis to buy up corporate debt in Europe.

According to a tax filing with the government of Luxembourg that was made public Thursday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the conglomerate joined forces in a 50-50 partnership with Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Development Co....